Corporal Punishment: Pain for Discipline
Painful, brutal, and authoritarian are only three of the many words often associated with the term, corporal punishment, and persists to intensify its already seemingly horrifying sound. Corporal punishment, being a physical means of punishment, is an infliction of pain as punishment for wrongdoings and unacceptable unac ceptable behavior. “It is the punishment administered by an adult adult (as a parent parent or a teache teacher) r) to the body of a child child ranging ranging in severi severity ty from a slap slap to a spanki spanking” ng” (Merri (Merriam am Webster ebster,, 2011). 2011). Corpor Corporal al punishm punishment ent is, indeed, indeed, a painfu painfull means means of punishment, yet the perpetual issue regarding corporal punishment is whether or not the infliction of physical pain is justifiable in the context of disciplining young elementary school children. There have been a lot of opinions raised regarding this issue for the past decades. Apparently, laws laws and treati treaties es prohibi prohibitin ting g corpor corporal al punishm punishment ent have have also also been put forth, forth, and other other less less physical forms of punishment have already emerged in order to avoid corporal punishment. However, despite all these reasons, corporal punishment is still more effective in encouraging discipline and understanding among elementary school children. There are a lot of reasons why corporal punishment is more effective than other means of punishment. First, corporal punishment is a good tool for disciplining unruly children. Although opponents of this proposition may argue that the power of physical punishment does not really instil discipline but provokes resentment and further misbehavior, Williams Williams (1999) said that “centuries have proven that the practice of whipping children has produced more civilized young people” (p. 2). For instance, during the American Occupation in the Philippines, corporal punishment was applied to students who disobeyed school rules, most especially, the Englishonly rule (Philippine Country, 2011). This resulted in more disciplined young Filipino students who became not only academically competent but multilingual as well. Nowadays, with the prohibition of corporal punishment under the law, we see the number of juvenile delinquents abruptly increasing year after year (Finnan, 2011). Moreover, the infliction of physical pain, either by whipping or spanking, is associated by the punished child to wrongdoing, and so, the child is able to realize that, indeed, what he/she did was wrong and should never be repeated. Therefore, corporal punishment is more effective than other means of punishment because it disciplines children better. better. Second, although people against corporal punishment may argue that corporal
punishment is ineffective since it promotes violence and sometimes even causes serious physical damages, corporal punishment is proven to be otherwise. Corporal punishment does not foster violent tendencies. As a matter of fact, it is only in abusive corporal punishment where physical injuries and other damages may occur (Benatar, 1998). Also, corporal punishment, in its true essence, seeks to be regulated so as to inculcate understanding and not violence. Corporal punishment is a “last resort”, not an automatic response, if after multiple reprimands, a child persists with his/her unruly behavior. Thus, corporal punishment is entirely different from child abuse. Child abuse is where violence is upheld and severe damages are inflicted, not in corporal punishment itself. “Corporal punishment is designed to punish specific acts of significant misbehavior and delinquency. It is not a wanton and unreasonable act of violence. Child abuse, on the contrary, is the unjustified and unreasoned beating of children” (Benatar, 1998, p. 1). From these reasons, corporal punishment is more effective because contrary to other assumptions, it does not promote violence, and it is different from child abuse. Moreover, opponents of corporal punishment may argue that corporal punishment traumatizes young children. In relation to this, Psychologist Elizabeth Thompson Gershoff, PhD, of the National Center for Children in Poverty at Columbia University conducted a meta-analysis study on the effects of corporal punishment to young children. She found strong associations between corporal punishment and all eleven child behaviors and experiences. “Ten of the associations were negative such as with increased child aggression and antisocial behavior. The single desirable association was between corporal punishment and increased immediate compliance on the part of the child” (American Psychological Association, 2002, p.1). However, like what was stated previously, this trauma can only happen if the act of punishment becomes child abuse. In refutation of Gershoff's claim, researchers Diana Baumrind, PhD (Univ. of CA at Berkeley), Robert E. Larzelere, PhD (Nebraska Medical Center), and Philip Cowan, PhD (Univ.of CA at Berkeley), wrote that “because the original studies in Gershoff's meta-analysis included episodes of extreme and excessive physical punishment, her finding is not an evaluation of normative corporal punishment.” (American Psychological Association, 2002, p.1). Thus, episodes of extreme and excessive corporal punishment is already child abuse and should not be considered as corporal punishment. In addition, corporal punishment is more effective because it addresses the characteristics of children unlike less physical forms of punishment. Children have shorter attention span and lower retention skills (McCauley, 2011), and so, a punishment that
inflicts physical pain would better remind a child of the incorrectness of the misbehavior that he/she has committed. For instance, a child who intentionally pushes his playmate gets a spank from her mother. Through this pain that the child experienced, it would be hard for him to forget the wrongdoing that he had committed since it caused him to experience a painful spank. Corporal punishment, indeed, promotes discipline through retention and not trauma. Therefore, corporal punishment is more effective than other means because it firmly capitalizes the execution of wrongdoing. Although people against corporal punishment say that there are other means of promoting discipline that are less harmful and physical like oral and written reprimands, guidance counseling, and other diplomatic ways.
These contemporary means are less effective as
compared to corporal punishment due to the fact that these are not parallel with the needs of young children. Through these means, a child being punished may not really comprehend why he/she is undergoing such disciplinary actions unlike in corporal punishment where pain is automatically associated with misbehavior and wrongdoing. Although it sounds very painful, brutal, and authoritarian, corporal punishment has existed for a reason that is not just to scare or emphasize superiority. It has existed for reasons of improvement on discipline, conduct and over-all welfare. Of all means of punishment that have emerged through the years, corporal punishment is probably the most effective way of encouraging discipline and understanding among elementary school children for various reasons. First, corporal punishment is a means of disciplining unruly children. Also, contrary to popular assumption, it does not foster violence for it is utterly different with child abuse. Lastly, it addresses the qualities of a typical child, hence making other alternative means of punishment less effective.
Bibliography
American Psychological Association. (2002). Is Corporal Punishment an Effective Means of Discipline? Retrieved August 23, 2011 from http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2002/06/spanking.aspx
Benatar, D. (1998). Corporal Punishment Social Theory and Practice. Retrieved August 8, 2011 from http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-53258058.html
Finnan, D. (n.d.). The World, the Word, and You! Retrieved August 8, 2011 from http://www.religioustolerance.org/spankin3.htm
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Corporal Punishment. Retrieved August 12, 2011 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/corporal%20punishment
McCauley, L. (n.d.). The Developmental Assessment of Young Children. Retrieved August 12, 2011 from http://priory.com/psych/assessyoung.htm#char
Philippine Country. (n.d.). Philippine History- American Period. Retrieved August 8, 2011 from http://www.philippinecountry.com/philippine_history/american_period.html
Williams, W. (1999). Making a Cause for Corporal Punishment. Retrieved August 8, 2011 from http://debatepedia.idebate.org/en/index.php/Debate:_Corporal_punishment_of_children
